OU moves up to second-highest tier in Carnegie Classification

In the most recent update to the Carnegie Classification of Higher Education, Oakland University has moved up to the second-highest tier of research universities. This tier features colleges and universities with “high research activity,” a designation held by only 3.1 percent of the 4,424 colleges and universities on the Carnegie Classification list.   

According to an article in The Chronicle of Higher Education, a move up in the Carnegie Classification can enhance a school’s ability to attract external research grants and appeal to industry partners who are considering engaging in joint research-and-development projects. A higher status can also improve a university’s ability to recruit high-quality faculty, postdoctoral fellows, and graduate students.

“As we’ve progressed from a select liberal arts institution to a doctoral research university over the past 60 years, it has been a goal to increase our research activities that would naturally lead us into a higher Carnegie Classification,” said Dr. James Lentini, senior vice president for Academic Affairs and provost. “By redesigning our infrastructure for research and strategically adding Ph.D. programs in our areas of strength, I am thrilled that this goal has come to fruition.”

The ranking reflects a major adjustment to the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education system, which now categorizes doctoral universities in one of three ways: “very high research activity,”  “high research activity” or “doctoral/professional" universities.

The first two doctoral university categories include institutions that conferred at least 20 research/scholarship doctorates and reported a minimum of $5 million dollars of total research expenditures through the National Science Foundation’s Higher Education Research and Development (HERD) survey.

The remaining institutions that either had less than $5 million in research expenditures or did not report research expenditures through the HERD survey, were placed into the third, newly named category “doctoral/professional universities.”

“We are pleased that our efforts in research and doctoral training have been recognized through the Carnegie Classification process as what is commonly referred to as an R2,” said Dr. David Stone, the university’s chief research officer. “R2 status will strengthen our ability to attract stronger, research-active faculty to the university. This, in turn, will enhance our students’ experiences and strengthen OU.” 

Established in 1957, Oakland University is recognized as a student-centered, doctoral research institution with a global perspective. A public institution, OU engages nearly 20,000 graduate and undergraduate students in distinctive educational experiences that connect to the unique and diverse opportunities within and beyond the region. 

For more information, visit oakland.edu.